The Performing Arts and Cinema
Montreal's most prestigious centre for the performing arts is the Place des Arts, 175 rue Ste-Catherine ouest (information tel 285-4200, tickets tel 842-2112, www.pdarts.com ), a five-hall complex with a comprehensive year-round programme of dance, music and theatre. The Theatre de Verdure in Parc Lafontaine is an outdoor theatre with a summer-long programme of free plays, ballets and concerts. Another eclectic venue is the Theatre St-Denis, 1594 St-Denis (tel 849-4211), which presents blockbuster musicals and other shows. The Saidye Bronfman Centre, 5170 chemin de la Cote Ste-Catherine (tel 739-2301), contains an exhibition centre and a three-hundred-seater venue for English (or Yiddish) music, dance, film and theatre. The city's foremost French-language theatre is the Theatre du Rideau Vert, 4664 St-Denis (tel 845-0267), which gives prominence to Quebec playwrights, while the Theatre du Nouveau Monde, 84 Ste-Catherine est (tel 866-8667), presents a mix of contemporary and classic plays in French. Montreal's main English-language theatre is the Centaur Theatre, housed in the former stock exchange at 453 St-Francois-Xavier (tel 288-3161). Montreal has more than ten excellent dance troupes from the internationally acclaimed Les Grandes Ballets Canadiens (tel 849-8681) and Ballets Classiques de Montreal to the avant-garde LaLaLa Human Steps and Tangente, who perform at various times at the Place des Arts, Theatre de Verdue and during the festivals. The continent's premier contemporary dance festival is the Festival International de Nouvelle Danse , held at various city locations on odd-numbered years from late September to early October. There are two well-known orchestras based in the city, the Orchestre symphonique de Montreal (tel 842-9951) and the Orchestre Metropolitain (tel 598-0870), each of whom holds regular concerts at Place des Arts and the Basilique Notre-Dame. The city also has a programme of free summer concerts in various city parks (information tel 842-3402). L'Opera de Montreal (tel 985-2258) produces five bilingually subtitled productions a year at Place des Arts. Films in English, usually the latest releases from the US, can be caught at most cinemas. Central ones include Centre Eaton, 705 rue Ste-Catherine ouest; the ornate Egyptian, 1455 rue Peel; the subterranean Faubourg, 1616 rue Ste-Catherine ouest; and the wide-screened and armchaired Paramount, 977 rue Ste-Catherine ouest. The city's only English rep cinema is the Cinema du Parc, 3575 ave du Parc (tel 281-1900 for listings). For Quebecois film-makers, check out the Cinematheque Quebecoise, 335 boul de Maisonneuve est (Tues-Sun 11am-9pm), which has screening and exhibition programmes that bring together the history, events and future of cinema, TV and new media; Ex-Centris, 3536 boul St-Laurent has a penchant for alternative French film. Call 849-FILM for films and times or check the weeklies - make sure to verify that the English film you want to see is playing in v.o. (version originale), not v.f. (version francais); the latter means it's dubbed.
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